As Venable’s attorneys and professionals follow the progress of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the producers of the popular This Is DesignIntelligence podcast asked some of them to be guests on a special series, Demystifying the Infrastructure Bill.
Host Dave Gilmore visited Venable’s office in Washington and over the course of six 30-minute episodes asked Jim Burnley, Will Nordwind, Jim Reilly, and Fred Wagner to walk his listeners through the details of the infrastructure bill – from the law’s potential impact on foreign relations and climate change to efforts to make infrastructure more equitable. Click here for the entire collection.
Part One
Partner Jim Burnley and Senior Policy Advisor Jim Reilly discuss what the infrastructure bill includes, the foreign relations impact of the bill, and the opportunities and challenges that could impact the built environment industry and the U.S. economy in general.
Part Two
Partner Fred Wagner provides insight into what it takes for the money provided by the infrastructure bill to find its way into the public realm; the lessons we have learned to make this a more efficient, effective, and equitable endeavor; and what the built environment industry needs to consider to better understand the opportunities afforded by this bill.
Part Three
Partner Fred Wagner and Art Guzzetti, VP of Mobility Initiatives and Policy for the American Public Transportation Association, provide insight into how this infrastructure bill is different from previous versions, the changing model of public transportation and what that means to communities, and the opportunities this bill brings to build differently for more sustainable, equitable, and resilient outcomes.
Part Four
Partner Fred Wagner and Todd Lang, Director of Transportation Planning at the Baltimore Metropolitan Council, provide insight into what metropolitan planning organizations are and how they operate, what their planning process means to the expenditure of funds, and how built environment stakeholders can engage and add value to community planning.
Part Five
Senior Policy Advisor Jim Reilly shares his thoughts about why the Build Back Better Act failed to pass, whether there is still hope for any of its parts or pieces, and the important climate issue that isn’t getting a lot of attention in the public media.
Part Six
Partner Will Nordwind talks about how his group helps clients navigate the ambiguous space resulting from what comes out of government and how they can work within the structure to avail themselves of what’s been created by the infrastructure bill.
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